Battle of Alytus

The Battle of Alytus occurred on 22 June 1941 during World War II. In one of the first armored battles of the Eastern Front, the German XXXIX Panzer Corps routed the Soviet 5th Tank Division.

History
Following the German capture of Kaunas, the Germans expanded the northern corridor of Operation Barbarossa, forming a salient in the southern Lithuanian SSR. In order to secure his flanks, Army Group North commander Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb decided to have fresh forces brought from their starting positions to mop up the remaining Soviet units in the Kaunas area. One such threat to the Kaunas salient was the Soviet 5th Tank Division, which was based out of the town of Alytus. A part of the Soviet 3rd Mechanized Corps, the tank division had been weakened during the battles around Kaunas earlier that day, and a short fight was expected.

The German XXXIX Panzer Corps (consisting of the 7th Panzer Division, the 20th Panzer Division, and the 14th Motorized Division), assisted by aircraft from the VIII Fliegerkorps, assaulted the Soviet armored force at Alytus. The Soviet anti-aircraft guns failed to shoot down a single German plane, while German battle losses were light due to their possession of the element of surprise; the Germans lost just 13 soldiers, one artillery piece, and two tanks. The demoralized Soviets lost 2,472 soldiers, 10 artillery pieces, and 130 tanks, and the 5th Tank Division was routed.